March 15, 2018 — Paris headquartered offshore services giant Bourbon has released annual results for 2017 that show total losses reaching a whopping EUR 625.1 million (about $772 million) compared with the prior year’s loss of EUR 271.6 million. The company says that the continued downswing in activity in 2017 led to the working fleet being reduced to 334 vessels and the number of stacked vessels being increased by an extra 52 units.

The Extreme sailing Series 2018. Pictures of The Oman Air race team in action during training prior to racingPhoto by Lloyd Images

The Oman Air team have put down a marker at the start of the 2018 Extreme Sailing Series in Muscat, taking the fight to their opposition in the opening races of what is set to be a long and highly competitive season.

The Latin America Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre, part of a global network established under an ambitious IMO-EU project to further efforts to combat climate change, has been launched in Panama (13 March). The centre, hosted by the Universidad Marítima Internacional de Panamá (UMIP), is one of five such centres established under the GMN project, which is funded by the European Union (EU) and run by IMO.

March 14, 2018 — Norwegian newspaper Sysla reports that Color Line has been hit with a record fine of NOK 600,000 (about $77,000) for five violations of sulfur emissions regulations involving its ferry ColorMagic, which operates between Olso and Kiel. The penalty has yet to be finalized by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate but, if approved by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, would be the largest imposed since the limit for sulfur content in fuel was reduced from 1 to 0.1 per cent on ships sailing within the Baltic Sea, large parts of the North Sea and the English Channel (the European SECA Area).

March 13, 2018 — “It’s clear our business environment is changing and we have a new definition of what normal means,” ABS Chairman, President and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki said during the opening session of the Connecticut Maritime Association Shipping 2018 conference. Analyzing the challenges facing leaders in the new normal, Wiernicki outlined three actions leadership must take in order to succeed.

(Tuesday 13th May, 2018, New Zealand) – Mr Takashi Okura’s New-Zealand-built Sled was the first of the nine latest generation new TP52s to touch the water when it made a splash in Auckland, New Zealand on February 15th. After a productive series of sea trials, the new Sled was on a ship to Europe on 24th February. Long serving Kiwi America’s Cup and TP52 campaigner, Don Cowie – who, with project manager Brad Marsh, helped oversee the build by Tim Smyth and Mark Turner and the team at Core Builders Composites – confirms the new Sled will arrive in Valencia, Spain virtually ready to race, and he says:

Greenpeace together with the #breakfreefromplastic coalition conduct a beach cleanup activity and brand audit on Freedom Island, Parañaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The activity aims to name the brands most responsible for the plastic pollution happening in our oceans.A banner reads “Polluted by Single-use Plastic”.Freedom island is an ecotourism area which contains a mangrove forest and swamps providing a habitat for many migratory bird species from different countries such as China, Japan and Siberia.

More Than 400 Leaders, Including Presidents, CEOs and Environmental Activists Joined Together in Mexico to Map Out the Road to Sustainable Use of the Ocean

Cancún , Mexico – The world’s oceans are in dire need of a solution to rid them of dangerous plastics that could soon occupy more of the water than the fish that call them home. 8 million metric tons of plastic is dumped into the ocean each year and the United Nations Environment Programme estimates there could be as many as 51 trillion microplastic particles in the oceans already.

[London: 13 March 2018]: Camper & Nicholsons Marinas, the internationally renowned marina owners and operators confirmed today that it had agreed terms with Edinburgh Marina Granton Harbour Limited to design, commission, manage and operate the new Edinburgh Marina, the centrepiece of the unique £500 million waterside quarter development close to Edinburgh city centre and gateway to exploring Scotland’s renowned cruising area.

March 12, 2018 — Harbor Harvest held a keel laying ceremony for the first of what could be as many as three 65 ft x 21 ft hybrid all-aluminum cargo vessels at Derecktor Shipyards in Mamaroneck, NY. The boat will be fitted with a BAE Systems’ HybriDrive Marine Propulsion System, along with an energy storage system and Cummins diesel generators. The first of its kind to be built in the U.S., the hybrid cargo vessel will be part of a new sustainable marine cargo transport network on Long Island Sound and the Hudson River.